Please note: Due to technical issues, this episode is no longer available.

In our second episode of YarnCraft, we discuss inspiration — the colors, textures, and ideas that make us want to knit and crochet.

First, Jessica Abo and Zontee Hou discuss your feedback to our first episode. Jessica and Zontee are once again joined by Liz Shaw, and we find out what’s on their needles and hooks. Zontee is making a variation of our Curtain Call Shrug and Liz is making a sweater using the brioche stitch based on our Ultimate Sweater. Jessica also speaks with Karen Tanaka, Creative Director of Lion Brand, and finds out how yarn colors are inspired.

Zontee interviews Glampyre Knits blogger Stefanie Japel and finds out what inspired her to write Fitted Knits, how she got started designing, and what’s in store in her next book. Read an excerpt from Fitted Knits previously featured in our newsletter here.

Finally, Liz, Karen, and Zontee discuss inspiration boards during our segment “Stash This: Ideas for Your Crafting Life.” Join us at the end of every episode for new ideas. Check out Flickr for some great examples of inspiration boards.

To leave your comments and thoughts, post a message on the blog, email to yarncraft [at] lionbrand [dot] com! We may even feature you in an upcoming episode! For our next episode, tell us about the best (or worst) knit or crochet gift that you’ve given or received.

Prior to launching the YarnCraft podcast we took a survey of our newsletter subscribers to find out more about yarn enthusiasts online. We talked about the results on our first podcast, and now we would like to share the results in full.

We have just published a news release with the results of our survey – click here to read the results, download some images and hear some audio from our CEO David Blumenthal.

Best of all, we were able to get a few quotes from Lion Brand customer’s favorite blogger, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee of Yarn Harlot:

“I’m enormously flattered and pleasantly surprised to be selected as the favorite blogger of Lion Brand customers.”

“The internet has fueled the socialization of knitters – it’s great having an outlet where someone does want to talk about your new buttonhole technique or the beautiful hand-dyed merino you just got. It’s become a huge knitting community – and while you might walk away from projects, you don’t walk away from people, so the community continues to grow.”

Lion Brand Yarn conducted a survey of their newsletter subscribers to inform the launch of their new YarnCraft podcast with results highlighting the vibrancy of the online knitting community.

52.7% of survey responders read blogs while 50.4% listen to podcasts. This exceeds the most recent Pew Internet and American Life Project figures that show that 39% of Americans read blogs and only 12% download podcasts.

The growth of the online yarn community is in line with another recent Pew Internet Report ‘Hobbyists Online’ that found that 83% of online Americans have used the internet to pursue their hobbies.

One in three survey responders turn to blogs for information about knitting and crocheting while one in four sourced information from knitting podcasts.

MySpace is the social network of choice with 35.6% of responders reporting to be members. Facebook and Flickr are next most popular.

One in four responders have already joined the knitting social network Ravelry. Launched in May, Ravelry has over 21,000 users and a waiting list stretching to close to 15,000 more.

Please note: Due to technical issues, this episode is no longer available.

The knitting and crochet online community is a thriving place, full of chances to connect with other yarncrafters and great content. Lion Brand is excited to be part of this space. Thank you for joining us!

In our first podcast, meet Jessica Abo, and join her as she visits the Lion Brand Design Center in New York City. She interviews Ilana Rabinowitz, V.P. of Marketing, and finds out why we’ve created this podcast and what we’re looking forward to.

The pink dress made by Jessica’s grandmother for her

Jessica also asks Zontee Hou, who edits our newsletter and online content, and Liz Shaw, from our design department, about the surprising results of our recent podcast survey, the online knitting and crochet community and their favorite — and your favorite — blogs.

In the survey, we learned that communities that you are a part of include Ravelry and Crochetville. We also learned that your favorite podcasts include:

To leave your comments, email to yarncraft [at] lionbrand [dot] com or post a message to the blog. For our next two episodes, tell us what inspires you to knit or crochet, or about the best (or worst) knit or crochet gift that you’ve given or received.

Elisabeth left a comment on the podcast post asking how to subscribe to YarnCraft in iTunes. Soon you’ll be able to find the podcast in the iTunes store (it’s just waiting to be reviewed), but for now please follow these simple steps:

1. Copy the feed URL – http://feeds.feedburner.com/YarnCraft
2. Open iTunes
3. Click the ‘Advanced’ tab on the menu at the top of the iTunes player
4. Select ‘Subscribe to Podcast’
5. Paste (or type in) the URL above (http://feeds.feedburner.com/YarnCraft)
6. Click ‘OK’